Oct 27, 2005 9:00 AM, from staff and wire reports

Riverhead NY-based grocery supplier Railex LLC plans to invest $18 million for a new 200,000-square-foot distribution facility in Rotterdam NY. The project is expected to create 300 new jobs during the next three years.

A division of Ampco Distribution Services Management LLC, Railex distributes fresh produce to East Coast grocery retailers.

This refrigerated distribution center will process rail shipments as part of a new cross-country freight train service. Using Union Pacific and CSX Transportation rail services, Railex intends to transport two 55-car trains—the equivalent of 44 truckloads—of fresh produce each week from the West Coast 3,000 miles to the Rotterdam facility. According to Railex, this will replace the 200 tractor trailers that had made the journey and will save 84,000 gallons of fuel a week.